Is Cary NC Still Worth It?

Cary has changed A LOT over the last 10 years. After all the accolades, does it still deserve them?
#carync #ellenpitts
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My name is Ellen Pitts and I am a Raleigh NC Realtor, and founder of Harmony Realty powered by the Compass real estate platform. My team would love to help you with your move in the Raleigh area or we would be glad to refer you to one of our partner agents throughout North Carolina! Schedule your free home buying or selling consultation with me and my team here: [e-mail]
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Ellen Pitts
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[@bonitak8483]

This is why so many of us retiring seniors are living in vans! Very informative, thank you.

[@EllenPitts]

I’m glad it was helpful for you!! There are definitely towns that are significantly cheaper than Cary so don’t dispair!!

[@willmichael4033]

Surely failing so save money has nothing to do with that! It’s the neighborhoods being too nice of course

[@LougHeed-vh4bd]

Wish there were more van communities that were friendly, safe, more affordable and fun.

[@jcpersaud]

Loved the drive around in the convertable, it gave the video a fun feeling! Thanks for the detailed info as always!

[@EllenPitts]

I’m so glad you liked it!! I hoped it would make people feel like they were hanging out with us on a drive ❤️

[@jcpersaud]

@EllenPitts It did that exact thing! Loved it!! If you or your husband are car people I'd be curious if you think the Raleigh area is a good "car spotting " area. My daughter and I are huge car geeks and love to car spot! One of the reasons I want to ditch the winter is so I can get a rear wheel drive sports car again! My daughter wants to move away from the winter for her current car as well. So silly but it's true😄

[@EllenPitts]

Timothy says there are beginning to be some interesting cars to spot…some Ferraris, he’s seen one Bentley. The most common form of transportation around here is very large trucks and SUVs. All that information is coming from Timothy. If it has 4 wheels, they all look the same to me!! 😂🤣

[@jcpersaud]

@EllenPitts lol...thanks to Timothy!! Tell him I'm happy to see he's keeping the manual transmission alive too! Ok..will tell my kiddo the report...so far the only downside to Raleigh is the lack of cars...I think we'll live 😂

[@BloomByCC]

California home in 2012 was $220k, same home today $725k ... That's over 300% in 12 years. It's unsustainable... Who can afford these prices?

[@EllenPitts]

It is crazy. The third largest location people are migrating from to Cary is San Francisco. People who bought low there and sold high can afford these prices. I’m definitely not disparaging anyone though. We’re all just trying to use the resources we have to find a place that meets our needs. The good thing about the triangle is that there are fabulous places to live at just about every price point. There’s LOTS of opportunity here, outside of Cary’s boundaries. And even within Cary you can find decently priced condos and townhomes, if you need something more affordable.

[@Theowannamaker]

⁠@@EllenPittsI’m crying as a 26yr old trying to find my first home, wish me luck. Great watch. Love from NYC❤

[@EllenPitts]

@Theowannamaker if my kids can do it, I promise you can!!! Please reach out to me. I would love to help you!! [e-mail]

[@robertaguilar4162]

Looking at that place today is unreal I don’t recognize it any longer. Horrid quality of living, horrid politics, great weather though (when it’s not trying to smite them). Leaving was the best decision I ever made in my life.

[@ginabellavia3247]

😢😢😢

[@tristyevely3798]

When I was born in 1979, my parents were living on Park Street and my grandparents lived in Farmington Woods . My grandmother and i went often to Cary Towne Center to shop. My grandparents have passed and the rest of my family and I live in Raleigh now. As you would hope and expect, Cary has changed a lot in 45 years.

[@brianh6680]

Moved to Cary in 1997 and left in 2016. Got tired of the never ending growth and lagging infrastructure. Live just outside of Chapel Hill now and couldn’t be happier.

[@demar1496]

When I was a kid, the library was in the house now occupied by Serendipity, I believe.

[@EllenPitts]

Was it??! That’s very cool! Tiny little space also. Must have been cozy!

[@davideographer4410]

Amazing insights! Really enjoyed the drive-around tour!

[@faithhopeyascone4816]

THANK YOU!!! Amazing!!

[@BryantBaudelaire]

Crime in Raleigh has been rising. It’s getting crazy but that’s happening everywhere now especially in my hometown (Nashville, Tennessee).

[@stebethstar100]

This reminds me of my old stomping grounds of Kirkland, Redmond,and Bellevue on the eastside of Puget sound in Seattle. Small middle class bedroom communities in the 70’s transformed into major trendy living/shopping upscale communities in the early 90’s. Of course the home prices exploded as major high tech businesses took root. Same thing is happening ( although on a smaller scale) with the communities of Cary,Apex, and Holly Springs. Unfortunately land is becoming less available which is too bad for future homeowners. We definitely need more affordable (350K-500K) homes for the younger generations.

[@EllenPitts]

Interesting comparison! I think things are a bit different now because of the opportunity to telecommute. Even if it’s not every day, that possibility has made much more outlying areas more attractive to home buyers. So the demand is being spread out more than it was in the 90s. I think that will help keep things from getting too drastically out of hand like on the west coast. Also, we have a ton of land outside of Cary to be built on and for the most part, there isn’t as much red tape preventing building so builders have an easier time getting things approved and on the ground, which helps prices stay moderate. I did an analysis of San Francisco compared to the triangle and found that our time from permit to build is about 1/3 the time as it is there. (There’s a video about this if you’re interested!) Anyway, I know it’s not the same as Seattle area but I suspect there may be similar roadblocks to construction. I appreciate the interesting conversation. 😄 Thanks so much for commenting!

[@Aristotle_GED]

I grew up in Cary , from 77-97. Cary Elementary, West Cary, Cary High School. I wanted to leave when the liberal transplants started taking over the town. Over regulation and endless taxes is the calling card for a liberal town and cary is no different.

[@bane2256]

Ya they just ruin stuff

[@Classiqmusic910]

Cary is one place that I truly love the area but I wonder are the people nice in Cary because they seem very standoffish when I’m up there and it would suck to move to a nice area where the people aren’t so nice 🤣😂🤣

[@sandysiepert7724]

I’m a Cary resident. I think I’m a nice person, and overall I’ve met many kind people and a large family community here. I love living here!

[@EllenPitts]

I do think the culture is changing a bit in Cary though. I would definitely say people are very kind and welcoming. But for example, when we first moved here 24 years ago, when you drove through a Cary neighborhood, people would wave at you. We’ve noticed that doesn’t happen much anymore. So it’s lost a bit of the southern culture, but people are still friendly. I think they just express it differently. I will say that people who move here from other places often feel grateful for being able to live here and you can tell that in how happy people are when you’re out and about. But it’s not quite as small town-y as it used to be.

[@ChrisMusson-kv8ph]

@@EllenPittsyou mean white liberals moved from blue states.

[@ericaem6847]

Lol ah yes, the scary liberals😂​@@ChrisMusson-kv8ph

[@vickigibson]

How nice to see that what appears to be in the month of December and yall riding around with the top down in a convertible..something to envy

[@laurenekench5851]

Thanks for all your hard work and great information! I’m looking to relocate to Raleigh and I look forward to working with you!

[@EllenPitts]

I’m looking forward to meeting with you!!

[@johndanczak]

You start to build up when you can no longer build out. It will be a mess in 10 years.

[@johnlabus7359]

I'm late to the game here, but yet another thorough and objective video. Nice job. No doubt that Cary will continue to "urbanize" and densify as the Triangle and Wake County grows. I suspect that the downtown park will spark more density and more walkable housing as the park is seen as lifestyle asset. I am particularly interested to see what eventually happens with the old mall and Crossroad locations. You can bet your life that something big will eventually happen in both locations.

[@EllenPitts]

Thanks, John!!

[@JustBCWi]

I like this sort of analysis. Have you done the same analysis for the other towns in the Triangle? We are on a retirement glide path of four years and looking to retire in Cary.

[@EllenPitts]

I might have. What specific parts of the analysis are you interested in? Here is one I did about Holly Springs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n56XfpKfna6ij7ssi=wWHiUDCpSMR7L-_L Here is one I did about the eastern suburbs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmHMp4OngNN0mpIsi=TLJeNO0xh01VjNnW

[@MsKMX5]

Cruising in the Miata in Cary. I'm over in Fuquay Varina because Cary was a little too expensive for me. My elderly parents still have their house in Medfield on outskirts of Cary.

[@EllenPitts]

My kids grew up in Medfield!! Such a great neighborhood.

[@Whenwefight49]

Why did Ikea change their plans on expanding into Cary?

[@EllenPitts]

I think it was just a company restructuring. Rather than opening new retail stores, it sounds like they have moved to a “plan and order” model where you order what you want and pick up at various locations.

[@jarvisstradford7211]

So Cary don't have no Ikea, so you got to drive all the way to Charlotte for Ikea

[@stevef68]

Seems like the old mall location would have been the perfect place to build Fenton (I mean it is kind of across the street). Epic is struggling financially now, so don't expect them to build any time soon.

[@joanfedora7414]

Is there any housing in/near the downtown?

[@EllenPitts]

Yes! It just depends on what you’re looking for. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk specifics. www.harmonyrealtytriangle.com/contact-harmony/

[@bud29-un3nm]

Everybody frm durham moving to kary thas y 😂😂😂

[@ddrse]

Who dropped the ball on ikea?

[@EllenPitts]

I think it was just ikea deciding to focus on online sales. But it looks like they may have changed that position! www.wral.com/amp/20820764/

[@LarryHatch]

Ikea's business model is to build in cities with 2M or higher population. We can't even get to that number in Metro RDU so we were batting two divisions above our league on that one.

[@stevef68]

Every business in town before that HAD to use brown instead of their standard colors, because of zoning, would have sued the town endlessly. If they let IKEA come in and use their normal colors, which they were going to do. I think IKEA got word, and just wanted nothing to do with it.

[@laurenspassionx]

Nope all the charm is gone

[@EllenPitts]

It’s definitely starting to feel more city than small town.

[@bane2256]

Yawn

[@EllenPitts]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@CritterSitterofCary]

Grrrrrr